Body Panels

[pfenlon]

Its inevitable that Stanpart body panels will become rarer and rarer as time goes by.

 

Dare I suggest that Stanpart body panels would be a little more available, and much more affordable if the TR5 had not been built.

 

From experience over the last couple of years panel prices have rocketed, is it because the TR5 owner wants them for his rebuild.

 

Sills NOS will fetch £300 to £400 each!

 

Bonnet NOS I can buy tomorrow for £1500

 

Resale values of this model are sometimes much more than double that of a TR4/4A .

 

saw a nice one the other day, cost of rebuild now at £47000.00.

 

Personally I think these prices are nuts and far better cars can be bought for a lot less money, you may think this Is sour grapes because I

 

am finding it hard to get body parts for my 250, well your dead right.

 

I cant afford these prices for body panels and I suspect I am not alone, I am not suggesting all 5 owners are millionairs, but I am of the

 

opinion that some have contributed to the fact that if you see a stanpart panel and you have a 4/4A 250 you cant justify buying the

 

bloody thing.

 

I shall now get my coat, and dont start about market forces for gods sake.......................................bye,

 

Pete TR250 rusty bucket chipper chip chi chi ch c.

[Kiwifrog]

Pete

 

Totally agree with you. I ended up repairing most of the panels on my 4 that really should have been scrapped, not pretty but at least its all in one piece. I did even toy with the idea of importing one of the cheap arazona or california 4a's you see on ebay US from time to time that seem to have really good panels but shagged interiors/mechanics but never got round to it.

 

Cheers

 

Alan

[ianhoward]

Pete

 

I do not believe that any increase in panel prices is down to the TR5 owner... More likely it is that any of these original 40 year old plus bits of metal are becoming like the proverbial 'rocking horse muck' - that is it. Once an original supply of something becomes more and more scarce, and as long as there are a number of people that desire them, prices will unfortunately escalate...

There may be some 'TR5 millionaires' out there, but I assure you I am not one of them!!!

 

Brgds

[RogerH]

Hi Pete,

as Ian says it is to do with supply and demand. Unfortunately the condition of the remanufactured panels does not help.

Rather than buy a poorly made repro people are paying over the odds for a NOS or used StanPart panel.

If the new repro's were a good fit then the price of the second hand item would collapse.

If the new repro's were good quality more would be sold and perhaps the price may even come down.

 

Eventually TR's won't be a good buy due to their parts cost. This in turn will bring the prices down. It all depends where you are in the cycle as to the value for money.

 

Perhaps the TRR should be doing more to get the suppliers to sort out their goods

 

Roger

[Tr4Tony]

Gents

 

You can't blame this on the rise in TR5 prices. Good TR4's, 4a's and 250's are also up there in value with mid range TR5's .... and the panels are identical but for a few holes here and there.

 

Every time I skelp my TR4 on an event it costs me £50 per hour of skilled coachworker time to get a panel staightened out. Not always possible, so it costs me £500 ish for a wing, £200ish for a good door etc. etc. etc. Labour costs are what drives this price here in the UK.

 

My experience is that a reproduction wing takes between 10 and 15 hours of skilled time to fit. Thats £500 to £750 a time. This is a job thats beyond me so it costs me hard cash, and thats on top of the price of the panel from your favourite supplier. So there is the true comparator. A very good used panel will probably cost you half of what a new one will once its on the car, unless you can do it yourself in which case its probably about the same. You also get a better fit and look from an original panel ...... tell me if Im wrong someone please. So you know what my choice is every time.

 

Another thing worth noting and that Im relearning as I look for another good TR250 in the USA, is that the days of cheap cars with good panels on them coming over are gone. Prices in the USA seem to be at an all time high, $1.4 Dollars to the pound so your money is worth a lot less than it was a few years ago, import charges are up at £1000 to £1500 per car depending on where you ship from and lastly the customs and excise fees are now 27.5% of the price of the car PLUS the shipping fees. Before you move a car you've bought in the USA (as an example) you need to bank on paying out an extra £2500 AT LEAST before you collect it at the docks. Much more for a comparatively big value TR like a TR250.

 

You only have to do the sums to see where the value of these good used parts is going. I don't see anything getting cheaper which is bad news for me as a 'consumer' of bits and similarly for Pete. The only consolation is that the cars are becoming more valuable as a consequence, with 'original' looking cars with good body fitting and paint fetching a premium so don't knock it. Perhaps you'd rather put your money in a financial product of some sort ...... or build a TR5 or TR250 for your pension.

 

Please note that the value of investments can go up or down. Past performance is no indicator of future value etc. etc. etc. and I know absolutely nothing about money except how to haemorage it into powder blue TR4's.

 

Best Regards

 

Tony

[david ferry]

Tony,

 

Glad to see the last paragraph!!

 

You may remember that I was looking at a way of holding classic cars in pension funds but then Gordon made changes that really scuppered that idea.

 

I suppose he was upset at the prospect of the 40% discount on the car's cost.

 

Perhaps the 40% discount can still be achieved by fitting used but good Stanpart panels rather than buying poor quality repros and spending loads on a skilled body man to make them fit!

 

One final point is that at some point Sterling will strengthen against the Euro and the US Dollar.

 

David

[TR 2100]

Agree with Tony.

 

Yes, TR5 prices are somewhat OTT but the TR5 has probably benefitted

the whole of the TR series, especially the 4/4A models, by publicity and

increased popularity for the range, far more than any negative effect of

higher prices for spares.

 

AlanR

[Ian Vincent]

One final point is that at some point Sterling will strengthen against the Euro and the US Dollar.

 

David

 

Why should it? Our interest rates are lower, our balance of trade is worse and our financial services industry is in rins.

 

Ian

[RogerH]

Hi Ian,

have faith Europe are in the same s**t as we are but it is taking time to filter through. Just look at Ireland - they can't afford the single currency

 

Roger

[Manmail]

The strength of the Euro against the pound will be short lived, I'm certain of that.

[Kiwifrog]

The strength of the Euro against the pound will be short lived, I'm certain of that.

 

 

I hope not my, TR spares will get more expensive

Edited April 12, 2009 by Kiwifrog